Unassuming? Scottie Scheffler's hometown experience at Chipotle defines feelings on fame

USA Today

5 days ago

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – To hear Jordan Spieth tell it, Scottie Scheffler, the Champion Golfer of the Year after winning the British Open on Sunday, is the most unassuming, family man in modern professional sports, who happens to like to talk trash with the best of them.
Asked about what makes Scheffler unique, Spieth said, 'I wouldn't necessarily think that the golf swing makes as much of a difference as the personality match. I'm thinking about so many other sports, and Nikola Jokic is the only guy I can think of that's a superstar that's equally unassuming in any sport in the modern era, and I'm happy if anybody else can find another example, but it's very rare.'
When someone suggested tennis great Roger Federer, Spieth considered and agreed that perhaps his demeanor when he competed on the court is that same, but noted, 'but he made more off the court than he did on all time, and he cared to. When Scottie is done playing, he's not going to show back up at tournaments. I can promise you that.'
That, in part, is what makes Scheffler a unicorn of sorts. He has gone to great lengths to create a cocoon of normalcy away from the course. He doesn't chase all the endorsements he could do and the photo shoots and commercials. He just wants to hang at home with his childhood friends and his family and be dad.
'I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family. Those come first for me,' he explained during his winner's press conference. 'Golf is third in that order. I've said it for a long time, golf is not how I identify myself. I don't identify myself by winning tournaments, chasing trophies, being famous or whatever it is.'
To highlight how he deals with fame, he told the story of the two Chipotle restaurants that he eats at when he's home in Dallas. But the one near Southern Methodist University's campus and not far from where he grew up has become difficult for him to eat there without getting bombarded by fans.
'There's another one in a different part of town that I'm not going to tell you where it is, but if I go there, nobody recognizes me ever,' he said, drawing laughter from the media in the room. 'So famous is just one of those things. In some circles, like right now I'm the best player in the world. This week I was the best player in the world. I'm sitting here with the trophy. We're going to start all over in Memphis, back to even-par, show goes on. It's hard to describe what it feels like because, yeah, I don't feel any different because I've won a golf tournament. This is not the be-all, end-all for me, but I'm extremely grateful for it.'
'It sucks for us': Scottie Scheffler's dominance has broken other professional golfers
Webb Simpson, a past U.S. Open champion, co-hosts a podcast and in one episode Scheffler was the guest and Simpson articulated what he thinks make Scheffler different from so many other athletic stars.
'It's super rare in sports to see the top of the top, who are the best at their sport, faithfully walk with God,' Simpson told Scheffler. 'A lot of young listeners, high school guys or even college kids around us, they are fearful that if they walk with the Lord they're going to lose their competitive edge. Somehow, somebody thought a long time ago that because you're a Christian means you're a soft competitor. But you embody a faithful man of God who is a fierce competitor.'
When Simpson asked Scheffler how he is able to do that, Scheffler gave an equally telling answer: 'I feel like God kind of created me with a little bit of extra competitiveness. Since I was a kid, whatever we were doing, I always wanted to be the best at that thing.'
As a professional golfer, Scheffler expressed gratitude for being able to live out his dream. But it took a lot of hard work.
'I kid you not, I have worked since I was two or three years old to have a chance to play professional golf for a living, and now I've been able to win tournaments I've just dreamed of playing in,' he said. 'It's an amazing feeling.'